The Oscars are just the ticket

IF SELL-out movie sessions are anything to go by, Michael Wright has his tickets on Captain Phillips taking Oscar home to meet his family.

The nominees for the 86th annual Academy Awards have been announced, with Captain Phillips, American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street and Dallas Buyers Club proving to be the heavyweights this year.

Mr Wright, assistant general manager at Birch Carroll and Coyle Maroochydore, said because not all of the movies had been released in Australia, it was difficult to confidently pick a winner.

But given the strong bookings for Captain Phillips, he expected the film to be best picture.

"It was really popular and ran for an extended period," he said.

As for best actor and best actress, Mr Wright backs

Leonardo DiCaprio and Judi Dench.

"Given the movies he's (DiCaprio) been coming out with, like The Great Gatsby, he's a tremendous actor," Mr Wright said.

"Then there's Philomena. With such a heavy seniors market here, we've been selling out seats to every session until this week.

"So based on popularity and bookings, I'd have to say Judi Dench. The feedback we've had is she does a brilliant job in the movie."

The annual Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, play out on Sunday, March 2, in Hollywood.

Sunshine Coast movie buff and former Rolling Stone magazine reviewer Murray Power has thrown in his two cents, predicting American Hustle will top the stakes.

"It was a very well-constructed film," he said.

"It looked great and the characterisation was great.

"And it's based on a true story, which has a lot working for it."

So it's no surprise Mr Power would like to see Christian Bale and Amy Adams named best actor and actress, respectively.

"It was a brilliant performance by Christian Bale," he said.

"It reminded me a little bit of De Niro's Raging Bull performance. Not the fury, but the way he transformed himself. He was incredible."

Mr Power said Adams' performance transformed her as an actress, and set her apart.

"Her performance had great depth to it and her range is extended by that character," he said.

"With Judi Dench and Meryl Streep, sometimes it's hard to remove that status from the characters they're playing, but Amy Adams still has youth on her side.

"You believe in her performance."

Ellen DeGeneres will host the 2014 Academy Awards.

2014 Oscar nominations

Best Picture

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity

Her

Nebraska

Philomena

12 Years a Slave

The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actor

Christian Bale, American Hustle

Bruce Dern, Nebraska

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street

Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress

Amy Adams, American Hustle

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock, Gravity

Judi Dench, Philomena

Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Best Supporting Actor

Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips

Bradley Cooper, American Hustle

Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave

Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street

Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress

Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine

Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave

Julia Roberts, August: Osage County

June Squibb, Nebraska

Best Director

David O. Russell, American Hustle

Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity

Alexander Payne, Nebraska

Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave

Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Animated Feature Film

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Ernest and Celestine

Frozen

The Wind Rises

Meet Oscar

The official name is the Academy Award of Merit, but the statuette is better known by its nickname, Oscar.

While the origins of the moniker aren't clear, a popular story is that Academy librarian Margaret Herrick remarked the statuette resembled her Uncle Oscar.

The Academy didn't adopt the nickname officially until 1939.

It is 34.29cm tall and weighs 3.8kgs.

Since the first awards banquet on May 16, 1929, in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel's Blossom Room, 2809 statuettes have been presented.

The first recipient was Emil Jannings, named Best Actor for his performances in "The Last Command" and "The Way of All Flesh" in 1929

The statuette is a knight holding a crusader's sword, standing on a reel of film with five spokes, signifying the five original branches of the Academy: actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers.